Road test: 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca

Road test: 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca

SAN FRANCISCO — In the surging yet still difficult to define cross-utility (sports-tourer) market sector the new Subaru B9 Tribeca straddles another fuzzy line between premium and luxury.

Think BMW X5 at the high end and Nissan Murano in its more basic rendering.

A natural progression for this wagon-specialty company, the B9 Tribeca (Trib-ek-a) fits in the $40-grand to just over $50-grand price bracket and at the top of the Subaru product line for both price and size.

It’s also the only Subaru that offers seating for seven, in addition to five-seat versions.

Like all Subarus, it comes with a symmetrical all-wheel-drive system and Subaru’s outstanding reputation for reliability. In a recent Consumer Reports study of 2004 vehicles, Subaru owners reported fewer repair problems than any other car brand. It also explains why Subaru enjoys an impressive 34.8-per-cent retention rate of owners who come back and buy another Subaru.

But what about those Subaru owners that don’t buy another Subaru? Apparently, size is important and too many simply wanted a bigger vehicle, or a vehicle that could seat more people.

The B9 Tribeca is Subaru’s offering to this group and it naturally also hopes to lure some new buyers away from competitive manufacturers.

The B9 Tribeca is built in a Subaru plant in Lafayette, Ind., and goes on sale in Canada in June.

THE LOOKS:

A guy driving a Land Rover hailed me to crank my window down at a traffic light near the Golden Gate Bridge.

“Are they in yet. I’m thinking about getting one,” he shouted. Not till June was my answer, and I asked how he thought it looked. “It looks better than in the pictures I’ve seen,” was his candid reply.

The front grille has “wings” to remind you of Subaru’s airplane roots. Its parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, is still involved in aircraft manufacture and is a supplier to Boeing.

However, I doubt that Subaru’s aviation history is a marketing plus in North America.

In any case, I preferred the side view of Tribeca. Its silhouette has a nice flow (for a tall wagon) and captures an in-motion look that’s appealing. A vapour-trail-shaped bulge at door-handle level is a handsome and distinctive touch.

The B9 Tribeca is built on an entirely new Subaru platform. It includes a unique V-shaped rear substructure that’s designed to give occupants better protection, in case B9 Tribeca gets hit in the rear. The rear hatch door is a one-piece unit with a fixed window that does not open independently.

THE INSIDE:

The airplane theme is continued inside with a twin-cockpit wrap-around dash layout. The cabin is bright, has a roomy feel and comes with standard features that include a glass moonroof, dual-zone air conditioning and power-operated front seats with manual lumbar adjustments.

Two seating plans are offered for five or seven passengers in a tiered arrangement. Sliding second row seats with 200 millimetres of travel is a unique feature. The bench portion of this seat is split 60/40, but the fold-flat seatbacks are split 40/20/40. With all seats folded, there’s a whopping 2,106 litres of cargo space.

You do need the co-operation of the second-row seat users to have any leg room in the third-row seats. An average height adult can sit back there, but these seats are probably better suited to kids.

Subaru has done an impressive job on interior mood lighting, which adds to the luxury-car experience. For example, there’s blue lighting inside the front cup holders. And if you like cup holders, there are 10 of them and four power outlets.

My only serious interior criticism is that the steering column, surprisingly, lacks a telescopic feature.

SAFETY EQUIPMENT:

The B9 Tribeca comes with an excellent array of standard passive safety features including dual-stage passenger and driver air bags, as well as seat-mounted side-impact air bags and side-curtain air bags.

Both the second and the third-row seats have child-seat tether anchorages.

Topping the active safety feature list is a Vehicle Dynamics Control system, also standard.

Torque distribution, engine output and individual wheel braking is controlled by this system to help reduce the risk of a rollover, which is a concern for all tall vehicles.

Concentrating engine weight at the lowest point possible in the vehicle also lowers the overall centre of gravity and improves dynamic stability.

The B9 Tribeca out-performed the BMW X5 in acceleration (0 to 98 k/mh in 8.5 seconds), handling and braking in tests performed by Subaru, according to Ted Lalka, Subaru Canada’s vice-president of product planning and public relations.

Under normal conditions, the symmetrical all-wheel-drive system sends 55 per cent of power to the rear wheels and 45 per cent to the front.

Sending more power to the rear wheels enhances vehicle agility, but depending of road conditions, the system continually recalculates an ideal power distribution.

There’s new-design double wishbone suspension in the rear of the B9 Tribeca and it also comes with vented rear disc brakes, which is unusual.

A five-speed automatic transmission with a Sportshift manual mode is standard on all versions.

THE SCORE:

“Think. Feel. Drive” is the slogan for a major advertisement campaign coming your way to promote the Subaru B9 Tribeca.

Well-engineered and elegantly crafted inside, it’s a logical progression for a company that thinks “wagon” and always “feels” safe. However, I’ll reserve my drive comments until I’ve had an opportunity to spend more time on roads that are more familiar.

Bob McHugh is the senior technical adviser at BCAA.

Editor’s note: Bob McHugh is unable to write about how the Tribeca drives because Subaru placed an embargo on the reporting of “driving impressions” before the vehicle’s official release for sale. We have received no explanation why and it is, indeed, a most unusual move.